Somewhere Only We Know
by partofmychemistry
Summary: Love is a task; it sucks, and it can come when you least expect it. How do you know when you're in love? There's no signal; no 'spark'. One minute they're a stranger, the next, you can't live without them. How do you deal with love? Full summary inside.
1. How Do You Know?

**Title: Somewhere Only We Know**

**Author: partofmychemistry**

**Rating: M, just in case**

**Pairings: Blaine/Kurt, Blaine/OC, Finn/Rachel, Puck/Quinn, Puck/OC, Quinn/OC**

**Summary: Love is a task; it sucks, and it can come when you least expect it. How do you know when you're in love? There's no signal; no 'spark'. One minute they're a stranger, the next, you can't live without them. How do you deal with love? And how do you push it away... When Kurt and Blaine's relationship hits a bump, things are thrown out of control, and desperation takes over. Drama ensues and both tears and laughter are shared. So, let me ask you something... How do you fall out of love?**

**Notes: DISCLAIMER. I own nothing, except the OCs. And yes, I know Klaine is a beloved couple. This story does not necessarily ship the whole Blaine/OC thing, but it does put a spotlight on it because it is special, so please don't scream at me saying I WANT KLAINE, I WANT KLAINE. Don't worry, so do I. ALSO: _Check out my profile; I have my tumblr username posted in there and THERE WILL BE GRAPHICS POSTED FOR THIS FIC ON TUMBLR. _Feel free to follow me!**

* * *

><p>You'd think a girl like me – talented, witty, and just overall the most worthy starlet of her time – would know when love comes along, but you would be quite surprised. How do you know – really – when love has come your way? How can you tell it apart from a silly little crush or an insane and maybe unhealthy infatuation? How do you know? I will tell you now, Rachel Berry has asked herself this many times. Yes, I am a curious girl… curious about love. It's such an odd subject; so relevant to speak of but so deep, it almost hurts to even try to put the feeling of it into words. But there it is again… how do you know, when the feeling comes along? I've always thought that you know you're in love when you would sacrifice your own happiness for the happiness of another, even if it means being without them for the rest of your life. This sounds so undesirable, doesn't it? Love is painful; it is downright evil in some situations, and can turn the sanest person completely crazy, but love is a magical feeling. It makes you feel everything, see everything. The world is so different when you're in love, yet it hurts. It kills you; it can be terrifying, especially when you don't know if the love is returned. To confess it is a scary thing, yet the curiosity eats at you. It gnaws at your every bone until you give in, then… they don't feel the same way.<p>

Fairy tales don't come true. Sure, every once in a while something amazing will happen. It will be something so surreal you'll feel as though you're flying. You're ten feet off the ground and there's no way you'll fall. This eternal feeling of ecstasy takes over and you feel… unimaginable. You can't even put the feeling into words. All you can do is smile. But these fairy tales are a rare thing, and although I would seem like a girl who would experience them, I really don't. Or, I haven't. Needless to say, I have been around while one was in the works. Yes, and it didn't include Finn or Quinn or me. Odd, right? It was beautiful, yet I was scared for the poor girl's life. And still, it didn't turn out happy for her. No, she didn't get him in the end. It was sad, and I will admit that I lost a little faith in love, but it was a lesson learned for both of them, and that's what makes it beautiful. They were able to move on, to love one another in a deeper sense, in a sense that is more appreciative love than intimate love. When the other person has sentimental value to you, as a human being, that is when you know that despite you were hurt in the end, you still got something out of it… and you didn't lose any love. I've always thought that that is the best kind of love; the kind that makes you think, that makes you change your ways and makes you reconsider everything you've ever known, and sometimes you don't have that person, and sometimes you do.

I'm not gonna go and tell you everything. We will save that for later… but think about something for me, hm? Every single person you see has a story. It could be sad, some could be happy… hey, maybe there's a bit of both! But that man you see walking down the sidewalk probably had a dog or cat or something when he was younger, and the name of that animal has been imprinted in their brain forever, no matter what disease or change comes their way. That boy that you think is flawless and is confident in every way; he could have a story that could shock you. Everyone has that one person in their life that has been there through everything, even if they weren't right there, in sight, or even in mind, but in some way, you were aware of their existence. Things could change in a second, just because you've heard some of their story. Maybe you won't like it, maybe you will, but life is pretty damn complicated and it throws things at you that you do not see coming. I've had to deal with so many things… the push and pull of Finn, the strange things Noah will pull to try to get me to make out with him, and the awkwardness that is the status of the relationship between Quinn and I. We will never be friends, but there have been times in the past where she was oddly nice to me, and I'm not entirely sure if I enjoyed it at that moment, despite the fact that I found out her reasons for doing what she did weren't exactly _ideal_.

What I'm really trying to say is… when love comes along, don't run. Embrace it, and hold on, because it could be taken away in a flash that may or may not resemble Quinn Fabray in a strange way. Don't ever ask yourself whether it is love or not… you will know. How do you know? Nobody does how it happens. Nobody knows the criteria for love. There is no checklist. Embrace it and you will know. I've learned many lessons after witnessing some terrifying but beautiful things happen to amazing people. There are no rules when it comes to love; you just have to stride on and not think about who should make the next move or what needs to be done in order for the next event to follow. Love comes with ease, though it is hard, breathtaking battle, but no matter what, you should accept it, because if you push it away, it may not come back to you.

Or sometimes, when you push it away, even in the slightest… it just might force itself back.

"I'm joining the New Directions."

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed. What on earth was Blaine talking about? He was Warbler, for goodness sake. Without any more hesitation, Kurt gave his head a good shake. "No, Blaine… I mean, I'd love to have you with us, but… you're a Warbler." A smile came over Kurt's lips, though it looked painful, and I could see that Kurt was forcing. I looked down at my latte and Kurt did the same to his. Without notice, without the smallest hint of telling Mercedes and I what was about to happen, Blaine threw himself across the table and kissed Kurt, quite passionately. I looked at them, quite bewildered and flabbergasted. Kurt didn't even bother to close his eyes; he just stared at Blaine, astonishment covering his face. My eyes shifted back to Mercedes, and it seemed as though she was feeling the same way… confused. Blaine and Kurt's relationship had always been quite legitimate, but the strains of the end of the honeymoon phase were certainly upon them, and of course, Mercedes and I had to watch them work their way through it. In public. I shifted awkwardly in my seat and Mercedes and I exchanged glances. The first week of our senior year had begun, and everything was fantastic. So far, no slushies, which was definitely a good thing.

Blaine pulled away from Kurt and gave him a smile. He blinked and sat back down, glancing at Mercedes and me for a moment. He laughed a hefty laugh and ran a hand over his thoroughly-gelled hair. "I'm sorry, I just…" his words faded when he looked back at Kurt, who was staring intensely at his coffee. "Kurt?" The other boy's eyes floated up to mean Blaine's, and his lips perched up in a half-smirk, half-awkward-grimace. "Kurt… are you okay?" Blaine asked in a low voice, reaching across the table and taking hold of his boyfriend's hand in his own. Kurt looked down at their hands and let a breath build slowly in his chest. He exhaled through his mouth and looked up at Blaine. His eyes weren't tearing up, but you could see that something emotional was about to occur. My eyes dropped to the table again. I couldn't watch this.

"Do you think we're working out, Blaine?"

I looked up at them both. What was Kurt trying to say? I looked over at Mercedes, my jaw dropped in a temporary awe. Blaine's eyebrows, as triangular as they were, furrowed and for a moment I thought he was going to get angry, but he looked down and slowly turned to Mercedes and I, sitting there, still as gargoyles. "Girls, can you excuse us for a moment?" Of course, I nodded quickly, grabbed my coffee and my bag and walked off, Mercedes and I arm in arm.

Blaine turned back to Kurt quickly and looked him in the eye, though his gaze was soft. "Kurt… you know how I feel about you. Every couple goes through this. It's perfectly normal," Blaine said, Kurt's hand in his again. Blaine bit down on his lip, not convinced it had gotten through to Kurt. He cleared his throat a little and breathed deeply. "Kurt, I love you. I want this to work. Don't you?"

With some unintended hesitation, Kurt nodded, but his lips parted suddenly as if words were trying to break through without notice. "I – I have a lot of thoughts… right now. Maybe… maybe we should take a break."

All thoughts aside, despite every time Kurt had made Blaine's heart skip a beat, Blaine let go of Kurt's hand as if it were a sickening disease that was highly contagious and completely fatal. His mouth dropped opened and a look of terror came over his features. "Why?" was all Blaine could say. He ran a hand over his face and covered his eyes with his hand. His head shook slowly and he breathed loudly, as if it were a strenuous task. Kurt leaned forward quickly and looked at Blaine with eager eyes. "Blaine, you know I love you… I just… we spent every day together during the summer… _every day_. And we still each other _every day_… unless you're married, it's a bit much!" Kurt spat defensively. Really, his intention was definitely not to get Blaine angry, but Blaine looked up, his eyes confused and angry, eyebrows furrowed all the way.

"Wha – what? You want to get married now?"

"No! Noo, that's not what I meant," Kurt said, not even sitting in his seat anymore. Their voices were louder than they intended, and people in the little restaurant were watching. He stopped and took a moment to just look at Blaine, to understand his emotion and try to stop it. "Blaine, I just think that we're digging ourselves a hole here, in this relationship. We need time and space to get out… It's not a break up, just time. We need time to slow down. I don't want to hurt you; I want to save us."


	2. With Open Eyes

**Notes: Okay so I'm kind of disappointed with this chapter but I really wanted to establish Rachel's position in the mending of Blaine's heart and how it will play out once the OCs come into it. It will all make sense later. Also, I saw how many views I got, and, well, I wanted to post (: PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU READ IT. SERIOUSLY.**

**STALK MY TUMBLR .com/ ... there will be graphical posts for each and every chapter (:**

* * *

><p>The last thing I expected to happen after that was for Blaine to force Mercedes and me into his car and take us to his house.<p>

_No._ Not like that. Actually, it was very sad, mostly because he was masking his sadness and tears with anger and a whole lot of yelling. It lasted until after midnight. Mercedes passed out on Blaine's bed and I sat in an arm chair, watching him play Super Nintendo until he finally beat the game.

"Stupid fucking Bowser… _die_, I – awe, dammit!" Blaine whined, throwing the controller to the side and sinking back against the foot of his bed. He leaned his head over his shoulder to look at me, sitting in the corner, curled up and nearly passed out. "Are you okay, Rachel?"

I nodded sleepily and smiled at him in a hazy fashion. He smiled back and stood up, eyeing Mercedes, curled up in a ball and sleeping like a baby in the middle of his maroon stain bedspread. "Should I take the risk and wake her up to get you two home or should we just turn this into a slumber party?" Blaine asked, a sly little smile on his face. I shrugged and smiled back at him, closing my eyes a little. I always thought Blaine was attractive; ever since the party I had, he was a different person to me. That kiss was… beyond amazing. And I know it wasn't the alcohol. And I am not foreshadowing; I do not and did not have any genuine, real feelings for Blaine. I was well aware of his sexuality.

"Alright, well I'll… I'll just leave her there. She looks cozy," Blaine said, waving his hands in Mercedes's direction. He let out a small chuckle and walked to the washroom. It sort of strange, the entire day, that is. Glee club meeting was exasperating. Mr. Schuester was way too excited to have us back and have the Glee club going again, and then Finn was acting all strange, and Quinn kept giving me dirty looks, which isn't really that strange, but I couldn't help but think that the two events were somehow connected. Before I could get too deep into my train of thought, Blaine was out of the bathroom, and he sat down on the floor in front of me and rested his head against my calf. "Rachel… can I ask you something?"

Nodding slowly, I let out a quiet 'yes'. I could feel his head shift against my leg as he moved his jaw, obviously opening his mouth to speak but was having a difficult time putting his thoughts into words. "Do you… do you believe that Kurt loved me? Or – _loves _me?" I frowned in complete confusion and looked down at him. He tilted his chin and glanced up at him, puppy dog eyes gleaming with what I believed could have been the beginning of tears.

"Yes… Blaine, there's something you obviously haven't learned about Kurt… Everything he does means something. He said what he said and did what he did _because _he loves you. He meant what he said; he wants to save your relationship, and time and space is the only thing that is able to do that. He's willing to take a little time away from you in order to increase the chance… of… of spending _more_ time in the future with you," I explained, staring at the ceiling in thought. Blaine was quiet for a few moments, until he sighed loudly and ran a hand through his curls, which, until that very moment, I had not realized were not gelled. He turned around and faced me, big puppy dog eyes gazing up at me, and I could see he was actually more confused than hurt. "You're just hurt because he wants to be away from you."

There was silence again, and Blaine's eyes fell down to the floor. He nodded and a little smile came over his lips. I smiled too and cocked my head to the side a little. "Ah, there's that Warbler smile," I cooed, giggling a little. He blushed and rested his elbow on his knee, cupping his chin in his palm. I sank lower in the chair and rested my head on the arm rest. I looked at Blaine closely and gave him a playful glare. The sound of the Foghorn Leghorn clock on his way was growing increasingly annoyingly loud, so I spoke. "Stop thinking about him." I blinked and he looked up at me.

"I know. It's just hard," Blaine said quietly, still staring up at me. I looked away momentarily, then gave him a sideways glance, only to see that he was still watching me quite intently. "Rachel… do you remember when we kissed?"

My heart gave a jump and looked straight at him, our faces perfectly aligned. Without thinking about it, I frowned and my mouth dropped open, but then I smiled. "Yes, why?" I asked him. Mercedes shifted quietly in her sleep and murmured something about tatter tots and one of the pillows proceeded to fall off the bed. She jolted a little but remained asleep. I laughed lightly, as Blaine did, and he stood and picked up the pillow, holding it in his hands for a moment. "Did… did you actually like me?" he asked, squeezing the pillow a bit, and dropped it beside Mercedes's head and pushed it underneath her head a little. Luckily she sensed it, smiled, and pulled it closer. Blaine smiled and a broken laugh sounded from him. I looked around, thinking about the question. There wasn't a bone in my body that wanted me to say yes, but I knew that I sort of had actually liked him, in some way. I did want to pursue him.

"Um… yes… why?" I pushed myself against the back of the chair and looked up at him, waiting for an answer. Why did this matter? We had been speaking about Kurt only a minute before, and now he wanted to know what feelings I had for him in the past?

"It's nothing," he said quickly, sitting back on the floor directly in front of me. Smiling a little, he cocked his head to the side. "I just… wonder… if I'm even _lovable_." My head dropped forward and Blaine began to laugh.

"Sweetie, he loves you. You need to understand that," I said, chuckling a bit, relieved he wasn't planning on suddenly pouncing me and having me to be his rebound. "Even if he didn't… I know Kurt is special, but there are other Kurts out there… there are other fish in the sea." I grinned down at him and sat up, taking in a deep breath. Blaine's eyes were getting tired; I could see them growing heavier by the second and every once in a while they would drift close and Blaine would jump a little. "Do you want to sleep?" He nodded and ran a hand over his face, his chest heaving with a deep breath. I stood slowly and collected a few blankets from an area on the floor beside the chair and rolled one into a ball and threw it on the floor. "Put your head on that, and leave room for me," I instructed quickly. He did as I told and threw a blanket down before he had a chance to get comfortable. He got on top of the blanket and lied down on his stomach, his head pushed into the soft blanket underneath it. I gazed down at him, smiling, and he opened his eyes to squint up at me. I took this as a cue to turn off the light, and I did so.

"Thank you," he grunted quietly. From what I could hear – and what I felt afterwards – Blaine had rolled onto his back, and I lied down beside him, bringing the covers over us. I lay on my side, facing him and watched him, as I thought he was sleeping.

"Stop staring at me."

"Goodness, are you psychic, Mr. Anderson?" I giggled.

"… yes."

"Well, then how many fingers am I holding?" I asked him, grinning, holding up three fingers in front of his face. I could see him smile, but he tried to hide it.

"… fourteen."

"You're too funny to be real, you know that?" I said, smirking at his closed eyes. He opened them slightly and gave me a smile. He turned onto his side and looked at me with open eyes. All I could do was lay there; I wasn't even smiling anymore.

"Thank you for being with me today, Rachel. It means a lot." I smiled at him as he said this, but my eyes began to close. It had to have been past one in the morning. Luckily it was now Saturday and school the next day was not happening, obviously.

I felt the slightest touch, and I opened my eyes a little to see Blaine closer to me. I smiled and let my head take up the space between his chin and his chest. Somehow I knew… it wasn't romantic… this was friendship, and he needed me. He just needed to be close to someone.


	3. Pun Intended

**Notes: If you were waiting for the drama to come, here it is! Get ready for a total roller coaster ride from here on out. Who thought that one girl could cause such a mess?**

**Follow me on tumblr! .com**

**List of OCs will be posted in my profile along with the celeb face! Also, please review! I can see I have a lot of views, so pleease review!**

* * *

><p>Monday morning came with a lot of silence and a lot of time spent with Blaine, which was odd, spending so much time with him without Kurt being there. Blaine wasn't himself, at least I thought so. He seemed needy; always hungry for more human contact. Now, I will tell you now, there was no intimacy whatsoever, only slight cuddling, me patting his head and running my fingers through his tight little curls ever so gently. He slept most of Saturday; as it turns out he didn't sleep that much on the Friday night. He told me the next day that he spent most of the night staring at the wall and listening to me breathe. He hit his peak of clinginess late Saturday night, demanding that I sit in his lap and let him hold me. Yes, I did end up spending the entire weekend in his dorm room at Dalton, which is apparently quite against the rules but it seemed no one neither really noticed nor cared. He slept quite soundly on Saturday night, and slept right into Sunday afternoon, and I am quite sure he would have continued to sleep had I not woken him up when a friend knocked on the door and came in.<p>

"Oh – hi, uh, wow… You're Rachel, right?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. I nodded and looked down at the sleeping Blaine beside me. "I'm Jeff… er, is he alright? No one's seen him since classes on Friday… and he missed practice today."

My jaw dropped open and my eyes bounced back between the two boys in the room. Jeff smiled and held his hand out. "Obviously I'm interrupting something, its fine."

"No! No," I spat, sitting forward. I pressed my lips together and looked down in thought. If they hadn't seen Blaine since Friday classes than obviously they had no clue what had happened. "Um, well… Kurt sort of… in a way… broke up with him? But it's just a break! Just a break. Everything is fine, really. He just took it really badly." I smiled up at Jeff and then glanced back at Blaine, running my fingers through his hair and over his ear. "Blaine, sweetie… Blaine, you need to wake up." He stirred a little and his lips moved silently but he didn't wake. I looked up at Jeff nervously and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright… what happened? What did Kurt say? We all knew they were sort of on the rocks," Jeff said, taking a few steps into the room. Blaine shifted a bit and opened his eyes suddenly. "Ah, hey, dude! How's it going? How you feelin'?"

He pushed himself up and propped himself up on his elbows and looked at his friends, eyes still half-closed. "I feel gay… pun intended… with sarcasm." Jeff laughed, and so did I. Blaine sat up and slowly and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

I looked up at his Foghorn Leghorn clock. "It's almost two o'clock."

"What?" Blaine shouted. He looked up at the clock as well and ran his hand over his face. "Ah, shit. Jeff, I'm so sorry." Jeff shrugged and smiled.

"It's alright, we've all gone through heartbreak," he replied, and I could see he regretted saying it right after it left his lips, because his eyes grew three times their original size and he took a step towards the door. Blaine took in a deep breath and nodded.

A simple 'yeah' escaped Blaine and he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Jeff looked around awkwardly and tapped his fingers on the door knob. "Alright… well I just wanted to check on you, dude. 'Kay? You should eat, you don't look so good," Jeff said, his eyebrows lifting slowly in concern. Blaine looked up at his friend and nodded. I got off the bed and smoothed out the skirt I had been wearing since Friday morning. Blaine dashed to my side and stared down at me.

"Are you leaving?"

I nodded quickly and smiled up at him. "Yes, unfortunately I think it has come to my time of departure. Today _is _Sunday, so unfortunately tomorrow is Monday, and I'd like to be prepared for Glee club tomorrow. Blaine, will you drive me home?" I asked. Jeff seemed to jump just before I finished my sentence, and I glanced at him, but he just smiled awkwardly and walked away, shutting the door behind him.

"He gets weird around girls," Blaine said with a chuckle. I smiled and looked back at him.

"No kidding… shall we leave?"

Blaine nodded quickly and grabbed his jacket from the foot of the bed. "If anyone asks, your my cousin and I'm giving you a tour of the place, okay?" I nodded and slipped on my shoes again as Blaine did the same. I grabbed my jacket and my bag and we left.

"If Kurt says anything to you tomorrow, don't let him bother you," Blaine said, both looking and sounding quite serious. It hadn't occurred to me that Kurt might have known that Mercedes and I had stayed over with Blaine on Friday night, then Saturday night after Mercedes was picked up by her mom the next day, then most of Sunday as well. I bit my lip and nodded quickly, though my train of thought was quickly put to a halt once we neared the doors of the building.

"Blaine Anderson, that can't be you, can it?"

Both Blaine and I turned suddenly, only to see a very pretty girl with long, dark hair and green eyes. She smiled widely at the both of us and it looked as though she was making note of Blaine's unusually curly hair. Blaine squinted, obviously in deep thought, trying to remember her.

"Victoria…? Victoria Barrett?" he said quietly, laughing lightly between syllables. She cocked an eyebrow slightly and nodded. Blaine grinned widely and pulled her into a hug, and she welcomed it quite quickly and eagerly. "My gosh… how long has it been?"

The two of them pulled away and Victoria sighed loudly, her chest swelling quite noticeably with a breath. "Almost five, I believe," she said with a smile and her eyes moved to me. Her head tilted a little, and she glanced back to Blaine quickly. "Who's your friend, Bee?"

Blaine's eyebrows rose suddenly and his mouth fell open a little, speechless, as if he were being knocked out of some trance. "Oh! Um, this is my friend Rachel. Rachel, this is a very good and dear friend of mine, Victoria," Blaine said, smiling grimly at me and gave Victoria a quick sideways glance. I got a feeling this was some sort of sign, telling me to talk to her, be nice, or something, so I grinned at her and stuck my hand forward.

"Hello, Victoria, it is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Rachel Berry," I said as happily as I possibly could. I heard Blaine exhale and I chewed on the inside of my bottom lip. Victoria looked back at Blaine, or 'Bee', as she seemed to call him.

"Bee… you got yourself a little girlfriend, have you? Huh?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows and giggled. Both Blaine and I opened our mouths and began to speak but she tuned us out quickly. "Anyways! I was just here… um, dropping off my registration papers… for Crawford. But I got lost." Victoria shot Blaine some big puppy dog eyes and he looked around.

"Well, the Dalton dorms are definitely not _even close _to where you should be, Victoria," Blaine began, laughing the whole time. He shoved his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the door, but Victoria continued.

"_Please, _Bee, call me Ricky."

Ricky?

"Ricky?" Blaine asked, dropping his hand to his side and frowning in confusion. Victoria – or '_Ricky_' – nodded quickly and crossed her arms over her chest. I gave Blaine a sideways glance and saw that he was seriously confused with everything that had to do with this girl. He had his hands in his pockets and was just staring at the girl in an odd dear-in-the-head-lights fashion. From what I could see, Ricky seemed to love the looks he was giving her, which led me to glance back to Blaine again.

"Where were you two going? If you don't mind my curiosity…" Ricky asked, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"I was just going to drive Rachel home."

Ricky nodded a little at this and smiled at me, though I was almost sure she was thinking something else behind that devilish smile. "Well… I will let you two go then. It was good seeing you, Blaine. You should come over for dinner sometime soon. My parents would absolutely _love _to see you." Blaine's mouth dropped open and a look of interest came over him.

"So… you're really back? All of you?"

"Yep. All three of us. Five years in Greece was enough for us. We wanted to come home," Ricky said sweetly, smiling at Blaine, this time looking genuine. Blaine smiled back and nodded.

"Well then we should get together," Blaine said quickly. Ricky's eyes lit up and bounced on the balls of her feet slowly, like a little kid about to receive the biggest lolly pop in existence.

"I would really like that… and, my parents would… of course, they love you, but who wouldn't?" Ricky laughed nervously, her hands flailing around expressively. Blaine looked down, and I could see that Kurt had come back into his mind. Ricky's eyes went to me, then back to Blaine, and she realized there was something that wasn't being said. "Anyways, I should go… get un-lost. It was good seeing you. Lunch tomorrow, Blaine?" she asked, her eyebrows twitching in anticipation. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah, that would be nice. We can catch up."

"That is _exactly _what I was thinking," she said with coy smile as she tilted her head a little. Ricky readjusted her purse strap and sighed. "Well, bye. It was nice meeting you, Rachel," she said, giving me a smile that made me so uncomfortable that the smile I tried to return turned out to be a grimace more than anything. Ricky walked off down the hall, and waved at a few boys she didn't know, who stared in awe at the girl who had actually just given them some recognition.

I looked up at Blaine, who was also watching her walk away. Once she was out of sight, he spoke.

"She was not lost."

I frowned and looked up at him. "No? She seems… nice. Obviously, she doesn't know your gay, she does seem… nice enough."

Blaine shook his head and looked down finally, rubbing his forehead. "No. She came here looking for me. She's probably spoken to my parents already."


	4. Left to Remember

Glee club on Monday afternoon was particularly interesting, for two different reasons. I received many awkward and unkind looks from Kurt, and I got to perform a steamy rendition of Whatever Lola Wants from Damn Yankees, an old favourite of one of my dad's.

"That was… really interesting, Rachel," Mr. Schuester said, giving me a very eyebrow-y look. "Um, may I ask you… why you chose such a song?"

I smiled widely and nodded. "Well, certain events call for certain measures," I replied quickly, giving Kurt a sideways glance, though he just looked down, his jaw tightening. He didn't understand; someone was after Blaine. With a deep breath, I sat back down and smiled warmly at Finn who told me quietly that I had done an excellent job.

"Huh. Alright," Mr. Schue said in the same tone, and quickly turned to Quinn, a smile on his face suddenly. "And… for once, Miss Fabray, you said you had a s - ."

"I. AM SO. SORRY."

Everyone turned quite suddenly at the sound of someone coming into the room, and though I am usually quite composed and level-headed, I will admit that this quite shocked me.

Quinn wanted to step forward with a solo? That hadn't happened since… well, a long time, which is definitely for sure. I gave her a look and decided to take a look at the figure everyone had their eye on.

"It's about time a ginger joined Glee club…" Santana said quietly, crossing her legs coyly at the sight of the new male figure. Everyone snickered at her, but he gave her an awkward glance and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, thank you, Santana..." Mr. Schue said quickly, crossing his arms over his chest and turning towards the new – _ginger _– boy. "But… I don't mean to be rude, but… who are you? Auditions were over… last week."

"Uh – right. Right, sorry, I'll - ."

"HOLD ON."

Everyone jumped. Santana was staring Mr. Schuester straight in the eye, her arms crossed and her ballet flat dangling off of her toes, her legs crossed. Mr. Schue rose his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to speak. She gave the gin… redhead boy a confused frown, but then a smirk ran over her lips. "Um, speak again?"

"I'm sorry?"

Oh. Now we knew what she was speaking about.

"Oh. He's fucken British, Mr. Schue," Santana blurted out, now looking at Mr. Schuester again.

"Santana! Language!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but why does it matter that he has an accent?" Tina spoke up, looking around in a confused manner.

"Do you know Mary Poppins?" Brittany asked.

"What?" the boy asked, looking completely bewildered.

"He has to sing, Mr. Schue. He has to audition before he joins!" I shouted.

"I don't care what he does. As long as his mouth his open, I am perf - ."

"OKAY, SANTANA." Mr. Schue yelled, the veins in his neck pulsing for a moment. Everyone fell silent and watched the teacher as he looked at the new boy curiously. "Okay… what's your name?"

"Er, Henry… Henry Raines."

Santana chuckled, and Mr. Schue gave her a look. "What now, Miss Lopez?"

"When it Raines, it pours," she said, a grin on her face and a shrug in her shoulders. Everyone laughed quite loudly. Even Mr. Schuester grinned widely and Henry seemed to just watch everyone in amusement.

"I've heard it before, trust me," he said, with break in his voice as he laughed. "Um, I'm willing to audition… obviously."

Mr. Schuester nodded quickly and without any notice, Henry pulled a guitar out of nowhere as if it were a rabbit out of a hat and Santana twitched slightly in her seat but kept her mouth shut. Henry looked around at everyone, and his eyes settled on Quinn for a moment. Obviously.

_A single rose left to remember_  
><em>As a single tear falls from her eye<em>  
><em>Another cold day in December<em>  
><em>A year from the day she said goodbye<em>

_Seems it's only been a moment_  
><em>Since the angels took him from her arms<em>  
><em>And she was left there holding on to their tomorrow<em>  
><em>But as they laid him in the ground<em>  
><em>Her heart would sing without a sound<em>

_For the first time you can open your eyes_  
><em>And see the world without your sorrow<em>  
><em>And no one knows the pain you left behind<em>  
><em>And all the peace you could never find<em>  
><em>Is waiting there to hold and keep you<em>  
><em>Welcome to the first day of your life<em>  
><em>Just open up your eyes<em>

_A single lifetime lays behind her_  
><em>As she draws her final breath<em>  
><em>Just beyond the door he'll find her<em>  
><em>Taking her hand he softly says<em>

_For the first time you can open your eyes_  
><em>And see the world without your sorrow<em>  
><em>And no one knows the pain you left behind<em>  
><em>And all the peace you could never find<em>  
><em>Is waiting there to hold and keep you<em>  
><em>Welcome to the first day of your life<em>  
><em>Just open up your eyes<em>

_Just open up your eyes as I lay you down tonight_  
><em>Safe on the other side, no more tears to cry<em>

His voice was soft and husky, and left all the girls with their jaws dropped. Mike looked at Tina, who had one hand on the side of her face, blocking Mike from her view. He cocked an eyebrow and rolled his eyes a little. Artie looked down at his girlfriend, and I say _down_ because Brittany had somehow ended up sitting on the floor cross-legged at some point during Henry's performance and had braided all of the hair on the right side of her head. She gazed up at Henry, smiling sweetly. "You must be an angel. A ginger angel. Like cinnamon sugar!"

"What she means to say, Henry, is… welcome to the New Directions!" Mr. Schuester exclaimed, his usual wide smile on and stretching out his arms. Henry grinned and pumped a fist. Finn welcomed him with a man-half-hug-half-clap-your-back type thing and Henry took a seat between him and Quinn. She smiled a little and her eyes shifted sideways to where the boy sat now. "Now, Quinn… you had a solo?" She looked back at Mr. Schue suddenly and blushed a little, her cheeks stretching with a grin that was nearly uncharacteristic for Miss Quinn Fabray.

"Oh – no, Mr. Schue. It was just a dumb Disney song. I… couldn't possibly follow that," Quinn said, smiling at Henry sweetly. "You did a good job." Henry smiled back at Quinn without hesitation.

"Ah, thanks, miss. Quinn, is it?" She nodded. "I'm Henry." Quinn gave him a nod and turned away before they decided to go any further in the middle of a Glee club meeting.

"Okay, you two… can we move on?" Mr. Schue asked. The two of them nodded quickly and it was fairly obvious that Quinn was holding back a grin. "Alright. Sectionals. Last year was amazing, we won, but of course you know that!" Mr. Schuester said, laughing. A few people high-fived each other, but I sat still and listened carefully. "So. Not only will we be facing Dalton again, but also their sister school, Crawford."

"Whoa – what? I thought stuff like that wasn't aloud?" Finn choked. Mr. Schue simply shrugged and looked at the younger man.

"It happened. They were persuaded."

I bit my lip and looked at Kurt. Somehow something told me I knew how Crawford had gotten in with Dalton. However, whether I should tell Kurt about Ricky just yet was still an argument I was having with myself. Yet Kurt seemed perfectly at ease, even as Mr. Schue continued to talk about Dalton and possible strategies to beat them again.

* * *

><p>Blaine stood in the courtyard, blazer folded over his arm, as the day was warm and the sun was bright and birds could be heard singing from some unseen place. It was now 12:42, and the plans had been made for 12:30. Blaine was not pleased.<p>

The courtyard was the one place where the property of Dalton and the property of Crawford met. Right where these two school properties met was a large fountain, the statue in the middle nearly eight feet tall and four feet in width. It was an attractive fountain; Blaine had always admired the work on the statue when he found himself roaming the exterior of the school. It contained many birds, some of them identical to Pavarotti, and many hummingbirds, being the mascot of Crawford. The statue was some form of a tree, though it didn't look exactly like a tree unless you looked at it from the correct angle. Blaine looked at it for a moment and breathed deeply, until he heard a chipper voice from off in the distance. There she was; Ricky Barrett, running his way in her Crawford uniform… wearing four-inch heels?

"Hi, Bee!" Ricky shrieked, throwing her arms around Blaine as she approached. He made a low 'erghh' sound as she had knocked some air out of him, but he hugged her back and a smile grew over his face. "How're you? I'm sorry I'm late, we got held back in class." Ricky gave him a sweet smile and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry about it. Where did you want to go for lunch? I was thinking maybe we - ."

"Wait!" Ricky said quickly, digging through her bag. "I thought… since this is the first time we have hung out since we were, like, children, basically… that I bring back the old times." Ricky grinned and finally, she pulled out a small bag that contained two sandwiches, and Ricky did not need to say another word for Blaine to know exactly what they were.

"No fucking way, Victoria. You didn't. You did _not_," Blaine said, his mouth dropped open, laughing lightly in breathy little waves, admiring the bag Ricky held in her hands. She swayed it gently before him.

"Smell it. Smell the sandwiches… the peanut butter, jelly, bananas and honey with a… hint of cinnamon!" Ricky said in a singsong voice. Blaine laughed and took hold of the bag, staring at the sandwiches as if they were an old friend.

"Wow… I can't believe you did this. This means a lot," Blaine said, looking up at Ricky again. She looked at him smugly.

"Please, this wasn't all for you. I wanted one to," she chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the fountain. Blaine did the same and pulled the bag open. Instantly, the smell of peanut butter and cinnamon invaded all of his senses.

"You know, I told the guys about this once… They think it's disgusting," Blaine said, chuckling as he took a bite into his and let the doughy sandwich roll around on his tongue. Ricky pulled her own out of the bag and cocked an eyebrow at Blaine.

"I know what's disgusting… what the hell have you done to your hair, Mr. Anderson? It looks like you've Crisco-ed the shit out of it," Ricky said with a snort, going for Blaine's hair. He dodged quickly and grabbed hold of her wrist.

"No! No touching of the hair," Blaine said with a smile. Ricky gave him a playful frown and stared at his hair for a few more seconds until taking the first bite into her sandwich. "So… Ricky… what's going on? Why are you back?"

Ricky's eyes dashed here and there for a few seconds, but her expression remained solemn. Blaine frowned, displeased with her sudden seriousness. "I told you, we came back because we wanted to come home," she said quickly before taking another larger bite of her sandwich.

Blaine smiled to himself and wiped some peanut butter off his lip. "No… that's why your _parents_ came back. Why are _you_ here?"

Her green eyes were suddenly staring into him, and for a second Blaine thought she was about to pounce on him or something. "A lot happened in Greece, Blaine. It was… a lot. Too much, which, for me, is… _a lot_? I needed to come home… I needed to see you," Ricky said. She looked at him and all she could see was the fourteen year old boy she knew and loved. Yes, Ricky had always loved Blaine. He was like the brother she never had, but as they gotten older, and as Ricky had begun puberty just before she left for Greece, feelings had grown.

"What happened?" Blaine asked.

"I sort of lost myself again, Blaine. I got back into the things I was into before and I couldn't stop myself."

Blaine buried his face in his hand and breathed deeply. How could she have gotten herself into that trouble again? She had been only thirteen when everything had started… the drugs, the drinking, the leaving home and not returning for as long as five days sometimes. Ricky looked down and smiled. "I'm getting better, though. Being home has helped." Blaine dropped his hand and looked back up at Ricky, and he quickly returned the smile.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded and blinked a few times before wrapping one arm around his neck and pulling him close into a hug.

"Ugh, Blaine… it's so good to see you. It's like nothing's changed," Ricky said quietly, and she felt Blaine wrap both his arms around her and give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'm your bro, Rick. I'm here forever," he said quietly. Though Blaine was glad Ricky was back, and healthy, he couldn't help but get the feeling that they saw two different things coming out of her return. While he was sure they would be able to catch up and perhaps become as close as they had been way back when, Blaine was almost 100% sure that the crush Victoria had had on him was now renewed, and maybe even stronger than it had been before.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: Okay so I know everyone is reading for Klaine, and I promising you, Klaine is coming! This is the build up for their next confrontation. And I know everyone probably hates Ricky because she already seems like a peppy, evil little bitch, but please wait... she's just stupid, and Blaine truly cares about her. But thats all I'm telling you! Read on and please review because I LOVE reviews and I take theme requests which means if you are super nice about it and ask for something or someone to be in the story (and it fits with the story... Kurt's not gonna start dating Finn out of nowhere) then I will certainly consider (:<strong>


End file.
